Harmony
by Flame Dawn
Summary: A simplistic yet poignant odyssey on the lives of The Marauders, Lily and her friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - a journey of joy, sorrow, sacrifice, humility, courage, forgiveness, selflessness and loyalty. A journey from innocence of bliss, to darkness of fear then to the light of awakening in the end. The ultimate Harry Potter fanfiction.
1. Author's Note

**Disclaimer**

**The characters, specific incidents, personalities and specific information belong rightfully, lawfully and entirely to J. K. Rowling and her Harry Potter universe. No trademark or copyright infringement is intended. Any resemblance corresponding to any other story, incident, character, representation etc. is purely co – incidental.**

**The information used has been obtained from trustworthy and dependable references connecting to the Harry Potter universe, with the exceptions of imaginative incidents, explanations and descriptions.**


	2. Welcome Home

**Welcome Home **

'Lily! Lily! Wake up!' Lily stirred slightly, imagining having heard the words drifting in her world of dreams, but awoke with a start when she felt someone shaking her.

'Wha - aaah!' she exclaimed, falling of the bed in her attempt to untangle herself from the covers. 'What?' she said hastily, standing up again.

'You have to reach the platform in half - an - hour!' cried her mother, Rosalind Evans.

'Half an hour?' she yelled, horrified.

'Yes, in thirty minutes!' exclaimed her mother. She was a pretty woman (however, not exceptionally so) with a pale face with a smattering of freckles and wide, almond - shaped emerald eyes. Lily had her mother's face with her grandmother's fiery scarlet locks.

'Oh my god!' cried Lily, rushing into the bathroom and slamming the door close behind her. She splashed water on her face, muttering, 'I'm a Prefect! What will Dumbledore think when I arrive late at the platform?'

Lily had received her Hogwarts letter at the beginning of her vacations, and a Prefect badge along with it, which she had taken great pride in showing Severus. She hurriedly had her bath and then changed, strapping her trunk shut and dragging it down the stairs as Charlie Evans, her father, stood at the gate with his car. She stowed her trunk into the car and climbed in clumsily, shutting the door as the car sped off.

Fifteen minutes later, she stood near the barrier which led to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, gateway to a magical world entirely different from her own.

Lily Evans was as extraordinary a person as her appearance suggested. Fifteen year old Lily Evans was a witch. A true witch, not in any way related to the fantastical imagination of those who wrote stories about them without ever having seen or known the truth. She attended Hogwarts, a school renowned for its contribution to educating all those who were capable of magic and possess the ability to wield it.

She was now waving to her parents and her sister, who had been aloof to her ever since that fateful day when she received the letter informing her that she was a witch. She smiled for one last time before turning and, after having made sure that no one was watching, walked with her trunk through the barrier. Most other students, many of whom she recognised, were already present. On one side of the platform, near the train, the Marauders were playing Exploding Snap after suspending the cards in midair.

She sighed in annoyance. The Marauders were known by nearly every student of Hogwarts for their frequently annoying but ingenious pranks.

James Potter, a black - haired, hazel - eyed fifth - year was the co - leader of the Marauders. He seemed to live to annoy people, and especially her since last year. He was quite good - looking, a fact that Lily firmly refused to acknowledge, let alone accept. His hair was so wildly messy that it was known for defying his and other people's intentions to make it lie flat.

Sirius Black, a black - haired, grey - eyed fifth - year was the second co - leader of the Marauders. He was the most handsome out of the group, and was known for this trademark. He was the only one in the school to match James' arrogance and one of the very few to match his intellect, looks, grades and brilliance in pranking.

Remus Lupin, a sandy - haired fifth - year was the third and most studious member of the Marauders. He was known for having broken few rules, and usually studied more than either James or Sirius, thereby managing to score better than them in almost every exam.

Peter Pettigrew was a mousy - haired, blue - eyed fifth - year Marauder and the least daring as well as least intelligent of the group. He was often seen lagging behind Sirius and James, both in corridors and classes.

'Lily!' cried Marlene McKinnon, Lily's best and most trusted friend, hurtling towards her. She was very pretty, with midnight black hair that reached her waist in waves. She had blue eyes, and the twinkle in their endless depths seemed much like the stars which twinkled in the midnight sky.

'Ris?' said Lily, suddenly cheerful, 'when did you get here?'

'A few moments ago,' she said, 'and I've saved you a compartment, come on.'

'What? Then why are you out of the train?'

'Oh, don't worry, I've sealed the door.'

They climbed aboard.

_'Penetro,'_ said Marlene, pointing her wand at the door, which trembled and then came to halt. Lily levitated her trunk inside.

'I had a better summer this time, thank God,' said Lily, settling down on one of the seats.

'Petunia didn't trouble you?'

'Not much,' she replied truthfully, 'how was yours, anyway?'

'Well enough,' she said.

'Oh, I had a great summer,' said Lily, smiling. 'Especially towards the end.'

'Meaning?' said Marlene, confused.

In reply, Lily sat down and, opening her trunk, pulled out a gleaming red and gold badge.

'You're prefect?' said Iris, stunned, before breaking into a warm smile. 'Oh my god! Congratulations! Why didn't you tell me before?'

'Well, I hardly had any time, or I would've written you a few more letters.'

'I knew you'd become prefect, though,' said Marlene, 'in a way, I knew. Do you know who the other prefect is, though?'

'Oh, I just hope it isn't a Marauder,' said Lily, shuddering as she imagined a Marauder becoming a prefect or Head Boy.

'And that's exactly where you go wrong, Evans,' said Sirius, leaning casually on the door.

'What are you doing here, Black?' snapped Lily, just as Iris said, 'What do you mean?'

'Well, since not all of us "loaf around all day" as you once so eloquently put it,' said Sirius, shrugging, 'Remmy's been selected as prefect.'

'No!' said Lily, horrified.

'Yeah,' he said, an eyebrow raised, 'just hope you're up to it, Evans.'

'Oh, I'm sure I can do it well enough if you don't keep ruining it,' said Lily icily.

'Because that won't show how much you can do,' said Sirius sarcastically, 'which happens to be less than what you can't do.'

'And how would _you_ happen to know that?' said Marlene.

'So you admit I'm right,' said Sirius, 'I was only checking - and you only proved my point.'

'No, Black, I don't,' said Iris, her voice quavering with anger, 'and I also don't go around telling people about how I know them so well when I really don't.'

'I just know them better than you, Eliot,' he said coolly, before striding away.

'I can't believe the nerve of him!' said Lily furiously, slamming the door shut. 'Why does he have to annoy the living daylights out of people every living moment of every living day?'

'That doesn't make sense, Lil,' said Marlene, laughing quietly. 'Besides, if he doesn't do it, he wouldn't be Potter's friend.'

'Good point, that,' said Lily, but she still looked irritated.

'And he wouldn't be Black either,' she added.

'That too,' said Lily, before looking eagerly out of the window, 'oh, I hope we reach Hogwarts soon. I'm famished and the sooner I get to get away from Potter and Black, the better.'

'We're nearly there,' said Marlene. 'I think we'd better get changed.'

They changed hurriedly, and strapping their trunks firmly shut, sat down for a short ride. Lily gazed vaguely out of the window. The very first stars appeared in the evening sky as darkness fell swiftly. In the distance, she saw the Forbidden Forest, as ethereal and mystical to others as it was home to her. The train finally came to a halt, and Lily smiled as she saw the Wizarding folk of Hogwarts again. She stepped off the train and made her way along with Iris to the platform, an immense feeling of happiness filling her as she saw Dorcas Meadowes, Mary McDonald, Myra Hilsus and others she knew amongst the crowd. She waved to them, smiling, and they they waved back, Myra gesturing Marlene to join them.

'Hi,' said Marlene. She had always been shy, especially around strangers, but being in their company for four years had helped her to speak more freely with the.

'Hello!' said Lily brightly, 'Did you just reach here?' she said, turning to Dorcas and eyeing her dishevelled appearance.

'What?' yelped Dorcas, who had jumped when Lily spoke to her, 'oh, yes, only a while ago, and you wouldn't believe how late I slept till in the morning, mum had to pack all my stuff by magic, nobody got to sleep properly either, because I kept running around and -'

'Dorcas!' said Lily exasperatedly, 'you're rambling!'

'Oh, right,' she said, blushing, 'Sorry, I didn't realise. Got a little frazzled after all that panic in the morning.'

'Oh, that's alright,' said Marlene gently.

'How was your holiday, though?' said Lily, turning to Myra, 'your sister didn't trouble you?'

'She's eleven now, Lil,' said Myra, 'she's grown up a little by now. But you know mum, she's a bit short - tempered,' Lily chuckled at that, 'she lost it when Estie dropped that vase she'd brought from China.'

'Well,' said Marlene thoughtfully, 'that's better than last time. But I don't think she minded the accidental magic.'

'Yeah,' said Mary, 'remember how she levitated Laura out of the window and back?' Laura was a house elf belonging to the Hilsus family. The Hilsuses were an ancient and wealthy pure - blood family, and Myra was the daughter of Ashelina Hilsus née Meliflua (sister of Araminta Meliflua) and William Hilsus. Celestia was the youngest member of the family, and Myra's sister. Lily laughed, remembering the time when a disgruntled Myra had told them that her mother had mentioned Celestia levitating Laura in her letter.

'Oh, that was accidental magic,' said Myra, 'and believe me, Mum was absolutely delighted when she saw her doing that. She was just waiting for the signs. She sounded pretty amused in the letter. Besides, Estie was only five.'

'That's very intentional magic for a five - year old,' said Marlene, 'she must be good.'

'Oh, you've got competition, Lily!' said Mary excitedly.

'I don't mind,' said Lily, shrugging, 'it's only good if it's going to help her later.'

'Same old Lil,' said Marlene, grinning, and the rest of them laughed.

'Alright, can we get going now?' said Lily, standing on her toes and peering over their heads.

They nodded, still laughing, and made their way through the crowd towards the boats that would lead them to Hogwarts castle.

* * *

Lily and Marlene walked through the doors that opened to the Great Hall, and settled down as McGonagall approached the stool with the Sorting Hat and a scroll of parchment. The ceiling above was dark, with only a few stars and nebulae lighting it. Immediately, silence fell on the hall as students leaned forward to hear the Hat's new song.

_'A thousand years or more ago,_  
_When I was newly sewn,_  
_There lived four wizards of renown,_  
_Whose names are still well known:_  
_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,_  
_Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_  
_Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_  
_Shrewd Slytherin, from fen._  
_They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,_  
_They hatched a daring plan_  
_To educate young sorcerers_  
_Thus Hogwarts School began._  
_Now each of these four founders_  
_Formed their own house, for each_  
_Did value different virtues_  
_In the ones they had to teach._  
_By Gryffindor, the bravest were_  
_Prized far beyond the rest;_  
_For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_  
_Would always be the best;_  
_For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_  
_Most worthy of admission;_  
_And power-hungry Slytherin_  
_Loved those of great ambition._  
_While still alive they did divide_  
_Their favourites from the throng,_  
_Yet how to pick the worthy ones_  
_When they were dead and gone?_  
_'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_  
_He whipped me off his head_  
_The founders put some brains in me_  
_So I could choose instead!_  
_Now slip me snug about your ears,_  
_I've never yet been wrong,_  
_I'll have a look inside your mind_  
_And tell where you belong!'_

'Well, that was ...' said Marlene slowly, '... different.' McGonagall unfolded the scroll and called out the first name.

'Akins, Micah!' A small, fair - haired boy walked nervously to the stool, trembling as McGonagall put the hat on his opened the list and called out the first name.

'HUFFLEPUFF!' bellowed the Hat, almost as soon as it touched his head, and he got up, looking close to fainting with relief.

'Ashdown, Hannah!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Beckham, Nevina!' 'RAVENCLAW!' bellowed the Hat yet again, but after almost two minutes this time.

'Brown, Nubian!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Chilcott, Madine!'

'GRYFFINDOR!' Lily and Myra clapped enthusiastically as she walked gracefully to the Gryffindor Table, smiling.

'Clifton, Sarah!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'Cole, Vanessa!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'Davies, Liam!'

'RAVENCLAW!'

'Deas, Michael!'

'SLYTHERIN!

'Dekeyrel, Daniel!'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

'Escott, Ellie!'

'Felton, Harris!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Fisher, Mary!'

'RAVENCLAW!'

'Hilsus, Celestia!'

'GRYFFINDOR!' shouted the Hat, and Lily cheered and smiled at Myra as Celestia joined them at the Gryffindor Table. Marlene congratulated her.

'Jones, Edgar!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'McFarland, Lillian!'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

'Minogue, Hadrian!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Have you noticed that most of the pure - bloods are going in Slytherin?' said Marlene in a hushed, hesitant voice, and Lily nodded.

'Mitchell, Aria!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'Nash, Indis!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Quinn, Aveline!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'Smith, Cheryl!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'Trevena, Steven!'

'RAVENCLAW!'

'Thompson, Everett!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Williams, Isabelle!'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

McGonagall folded the scroll and the hat and put them away, resuming her seat at the Teachers' Table. Dumbledore stood up to make his welcoming speech, his plum - coloured robes glowing softly in the light of the lanterns.

'Welcome,' he said, his deep voice echoing through the majestic hall, 'welcome back to Hogwarts, and to another year of studying and equally necessary indulgence. I shall hope you will all have a very fulfilling year ahead, and much laughter in the foreseeable future and the time beyond.' He sat down then, and there was much enthusiastic applause.

Lily and Marlene tucked in, quite hungry as they had both forgotten their breakfast this morning. Iris finished several minutes later, and Lily finished the last spoonful of the Treacle Tart. They looked up as Dumbledore stood up again to make his speech.

'Now that you have all eaten and are satisfied, I must request your attention for a few important notices. Mr. Filch has asked me to inform you that items such as Screaming Yo-Yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever - Bashing Boomerangs and others whose names are mentioned in a list at his office, are not permitted for use or for possession.

'I would like to remind you all that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year,' his bright blue eyes strayed towards Sirius, James, Remus and Peter, better known as the Marauders. Sirius smirked and James grinned cheekily, while Remus' lips twitched slightly. Peter blushed and looked at the window instead.

'And now, it is late, and I know how important it is for you all to be alert and properly rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Your beds await you, a warm and comfortable as always. Bedtime! Pip pip!'

There was a great scraping sound as the benches in the Hall were pushed back as students began pouring out of the Hall. Lily stood up and began herding the first - years into a queue as they stood up to exit the Hall.

'First - years!' she called commandingly over the table, 'first - years over here! Line up, please!'

Marlene, meanwhile, stood up and followed Mary and Dorcas out of the Hall, signalling Lily to join them later, who nodded.

'Follow me, please,' said Lily, and she and Simon Davies (the other Gryffindor Prefect) walked out of the hall along with the first - years. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady in front of three Gryffindor Common Room, where a huge crowd had accumulated.

'Oh, right, I forgot - password,' said Simon, and Lily rolled her eyes. 'Elf Ears.'

'I wish it were toes,' said the Fat Lady, swinging open to allow them to enter. Lily stared oddly at her as she passed her.

'All right,' said Simon, 'first - years, this is your Common Room.'

'Both Boys' and Girls' Dormitories are upstairs, but the Boys' Dormitories is to the right and the Girls' Dormitories are to the left.'

'Aah!' screamed a boy she recognised as Edgar Jones, sliding down the Girls' Dormitories' staircase. Apparently, he had forgotten which side the Boys' Dormitories' were on and had attempted to go to the Girls' Dormitories instead. There was a great uproar of laughter as he righted himself dazedly.

'There's an enchantment on the staircase leading to the Girls' Dormitories which prevents boys from entering. The founders considered boys as untrustworthy,' she said impatiently; she was quite tired. Another ripple of laughter went through the Common Room.

'I'm going to bed,' she muttered, once the crowd had dissipated. She turned and stormed up the staircase and collapsed on her bed. She glanced at Marlene, who was already asleep, and then at her watch, and groaned. It was eleven thirty p.m. already. Feeling slightly dissatisfied with the meagre - in her opinion - amount of sleep she will be getting, she turned over and watched the moonlight cascading gently on to the curtains and reflecting from the window, until she fell asleep by the light of the stars, the only ones not hidden by shadows. She smiled in her sleep. She was finally home.


	3. Blue Blood

**Blue Blood**

Snow blanketed the previously unoccupied grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students ranging from first-years, who were present in unmatched abundance, to seventh-years, whose negligible population did little to overcrowd it mingled in the unusual accumulation so rarely seen at this time of the term.

A particular redhead by the name of Lily Evans, along with one of her occasional companions, Myra Hilsus, and her pretty and faithful friend Marlene McKinnon stood amidst the excited chatter of voices brimming with exaltation, and the despairing complaints of those brimming with desolation.

Several first years, evidently in the spirit of merrymaking, unintentionally threw a large snowball towards a fifth year with long, flaxen hair and a pale, pointed face. It impacted with his jaw, immediately compelling him to bend and clutch his jaw while staggering backwards. He wheeled around, searching for his attacker. His enduringly disdainful sneer had been replaced by a livid glare. His attacker, a first year by the name of Aveline Quinn, stared back at him, immobilised by chagrin and apprehension.

Marlene elbowed Lily and pointed towards the fifth year, who was unsuccessfully attempting to deter the first year.

'Lil,' said Iris in an undertone.

'What?'

'That one can do with some help.'

Lily shifted her gaze towards him.

'Malfoy,' she said under her breath. 'Back to terrorising some other first year, I suppose.'

She huffed before making her way through the deep layer of snow towards Malfoy.

'Malfoy,' she said, 'You're not allowed to duel with a student below your year, or of any other year, for that matter.' She eyed his wand, frowning.

'Ah, Evans, is this? Am I under the impression that you may be dutifully,' he placed delicate emphasis on the word, 'following you prefect duties?' There was a slight pause. 'However, I must say that your charming greeting is most welcome in this hostile –' he glanced briefly towards Aveline, '- environment.'

She tilted her head slightly. 'I would've thought you had better manners than to avenge a first year for what wasn't their fault. She didn't do it intentionally.'

'Why, I am honoured to know you consider my mannerisms worthy of contemplation. Perhaps you may pay equal attention to such carelessness?'

'Your wand should be back in your pocket, Malfoy.' She replied firmly.

'Very well, although it is not quite advisable for those who may have a likelihood of protecting their well – being. I presumed you may have been bestowed with knowledge of this, but it appears that such concerns are beyond the comprehension of an undeserving _mudblood._' He spat the word as though it were venom on his tongue.

Thanking the gods that they were beyond earshot, she gazed steadily back at Malfoy, knowing from experience the instantaneous uproar the utterance of this unseemly word could cause, an uproar which could not be justified satisfactorily when it's prime leaders were lead to McGonagall's office for questioning. Nevertheless, she felt more hostile towards him now.

'I'll be reporting this incident to your House Head. Aveline, head back to your common room. If not that, you can stay here if you promise this won't happen again. If you're injured, head to the Hospital Wing with only one of your friends. Is that understood?'

Aveline nodded in response. Malfoy delivered her a look of deepest loathing before spinning on his heel and walking towards the castle. Lily stalked off towards the Great Hall, pausing only once to look back on the grounds, ensuring that no student was left outside.

* * *

'Today we will be practising defensive spells concerning the area of jinxes and mild hexes,' said their Defence professor, Wendell Wilkins, as he swept the class with his singularly calculating glance. 'You will not be learning to perform the non – verbal form of these spells until your sixth year, but for now, you will go through the theoretical renditions of these spells and will be practising them so that you are able to produce the prerequisite result with the use of incantations before you learn to do it non – verbally.

'Now, as each of you must certainly know, is that the nature of such spells is indeterminate. The only definite factor is their ability of acclimatisation as per circumstances. They are especially effectual when performed willingly, therefore rendering them powerful and even destructive on the basis of the caster's will and the accuracy of the incantation. This will not hold true if the caster is not concentrating satisfactorily on only producing a potent result, or if the caster is occupied elsewhere.' He finished the last sentence with a pointed glance towards the last row, where Madison Bell, chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was engaged in what seemed to be a thoughtful conversation with her friends. When she noticed the Defence professor looking pointedly in her direction, she stammered an apology and immediately occupied herself with her book, pretending to be very interested in a particular sentence of the page. 'You will be allowed to duel only with these prescribed spells.' He pointed his wand at the blackboard, and four words appeared: _The Binding Charm, The Stunning Spell, The Shield Charm and The Freezing Charm. _

'Everyone be prepared for a preliminary duel,' he said, clapping the palms of his hands together. 'We will see who masters the spell first, the fastest and the best.'

A few minutes later, they were aligned in rows, each Gryffindor facing an opponent from Hufflepuff, wands raised expectantly.

'When I say "now", one from each pair will perform their chosen spell, and the other will react accordingly. You know the incantations and the wand movements, so be prepared. Now!'

There was an instantaneous flash of spells issuing forth wands, from which preponderance rebounded, and many were poorly aimed. Marlene, who was duelling with Davis, had managed to produce a Shield, and her face showed no sign of her usual patience as she assessed Jane's (a fifth - year Hufflepuff who Lily was familiar with) inability to stun her partner.

'Honestly,' she began exasperatedly, which Lily could quite understand, having stunned her partner who was lying on the floor due to being unable to shield himself. 'Jane, you have to concentrate to do the spell. How do you expect to do that when you're staring at the _ceiling_?'

'Huh? What?' said Jane, abruptly jerking out of her transient reverie and blinking owlishly at Marlene.

Lily raised an eyebrow. 'Wonder why the ceiling didn't fall,' she responded dryly.

'Oh, stuff it,' muttered Jane. 'I'll try again.' She stared with admirable determination at Marlene's invisible shield, producing a distinctive impression of having dissolved into a trance, but a moment later, she yelled, _'Evincio!'_ and black ropes burst from her wand.

She looked both stunned and overjoyed at having succeeded, but her spell veered off course and charged towards a fifth year with dark brown hair, whose eyes widened in surprise but who managed to dodge it just in time.

'Sorry, Sable!' interjected the culprit.

'Oi!' said Isabel indignantly, 'How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not _sable_?'

'How about Bell, then?' said Lily, barely suppressing a smile.

Isabel turned to glare at her (Jane winced sympathetically) but rolled her eyes a moment later and turned away.

'It's no use telling you anyway, you'll just carry on,' she said a moment later. Marlene looked somewhat offended, while Myra grinned and said, 'Took you this long to figure it out?' but dodged when Isabel sent a seemingly inoffensive looking jinx her way.

'Oi, Skinny!' yelled Sirius across the room, grinning maniacally, and Lily seethed silently, not quite willing to challenge a student when the Defence Professor was still near. 'Still on with shields? Afraid you'd get blown away, in case Lexis breathes on you?'

Lily glanced at Marlene. She was ignoring him, but her cheeks had turned a shade of suffused pink. She was somewhat thankful that Lexis Brown - a pompous chaser with, in her opinion, an arrogance that surpassed James' - was not around. Marlene had once fancied him, but it had ended quite disastrously when he made his prejudice against Muggleborns quite obvious last year.

'Oh, I wonder how you know that? Don't tell me you've been going out with him?' Lily hissed. Isabel snickered as Sirius turned to face her instead, eyes narrowed.

'Yeah, worried it'll distract _darling_ Snivelly from you?' he said snidely. Jane whipped out her wand, looking murderous. Marlene, looking annoyed, followed, but Lily calmly drew out her own wand and said, 'Oh, no, not at all, but I'd really like to see some of you land in self - inflicted detention,' she smiled serenely.

'Lily –' began Marlene, but James intervened.

'Worried about Sirius, Skinny, eh? Be sure to tell him next time.'

_There we go again,_ thought Lily frustratedly.

It always begun with a volley of insults being exchanged graciously, but intensified into a duel outside the walls of the classroom. The Defence Professor seemed to have noticed the preliminary beginnings of a spat, so he hastened to the area of conflict and separated them, ensuring that they were far enough from each other to not be able to cause any harm. He had had many troublesome incidents during his regime, but none quite as malignant as those caused by enmity between the two most brilliant groups of students of his class.

'Now, I don't think there's any need to quarrel unnecessarily!' said the Professor Wilkins, ushering James as far away from Sirius as possible. 'You're here to learn, yes, and to use it in a duel, but most certainly not in a fight!' He waved his wand, and a wooden statue appeared out of thin air. 'You will practise on this, and you will do so until you achieve perfection.'

Lily fumed silently. Here they were, bearing the punishment for something Black began! Nevertheless, she whipped out her wand violently, and thought, _Stupefy! _A jet of red light soared towards the statue , and although it lifted its own fake wand and delivered a jinx, her spell overcame it and hit it in the middle, and a long, deep crack appeared.

'Well,' said the Professor Wilkins, raising his eyebrows, 'that was very good, Ms. Evans. I have seen few fifth - years perform such a flamboyant Stunning Spell before, especially if it is wordless. There is always some flaw - perhaps the spell is poorly aimed, misses the target, rebounds, is blocked or is too weak. Yours, however, was more than what I expected. Fifteen points to Gryffindor.'

'Thank you, Professor,' chirped Lily unblushingly, 'but I know there are others better than me.'

'True,' chuckled the Defense Professor. 'Your turn, Mr. Potter.'

James raised his wand confidently. At almost the same time, the statue raised its wand, and a red light burst from it. With what Lily had to admit was excellent reflexes, he waved his wand and black ropes erupted from his wand, blocking the spell and binding the statue. He waved his wand again, and Lily watched, amazed, as a wall of ice materialised from the air around the statue and enveloped it completely. The Defense Professor looked, to say the least, astounded.

'Wordless Binding Charm?' he said quietly, and James nodded. 'Wordless Conjuration?' he said again, and James nodded. 'Twenty points to Gryffindor,' he finally announced, and James looked triumphant. 'Ms. McKinnon,' he said, and Marlene stepped forward, and pointed her wand at the statue. The ice melted away gradually.

'Ten points to Gryffindor, Ms. McKinnon,' said the Professor, 'I do not believe the Heating Charm has been taught to you yet.'

'Thank you, Professor,' said Marlene modestly. She faced the statue again, and both she and the statue raised their wands at the same time. She waved her wand just as a red light came from the statue's wand and rebounded as it encountered her shield.

'Five points to Gryffindor,' said the Professor, 'Mr. Black, you are next.'

Sirius rolled back his sleeves, and, pointing his wand at the statue, wearing an expression of calm haughtiness, said, _'Incurvo.' _The statue bent forward, until half of it had bent over until its head touched its feet. He waved his wand again, and the statue vanished.

'I would not have recommended the usage of the Distortion Curse in this class, Mr. Black, but seeing that this is exceptional performance, I will reward you with twenty points for the extremely difficult Vanishment that you attempted successfully and for the effectiveness of the curse.'

'The class is dismissed,' he said, walking back to the front of the class, 'and five points to Gryffindor to Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Foster each on accomplishing one of the spells.'

* * *

Lily hurried through a dark and poorly lit passageway, wondering why she had not bothered to check the time earlier and see if she was late, yet again, for Transfiguration.

'Why, I did not expect to meet a _mudblood_ here,' sneered Malfoy distastefully, stepping out from a passage that had been hidden in the shadows.

'Why, I don't remember asking you to go searching for one,' said Lily, gazing at him defiantly.

'Ah, in a rather tetchy mood, aren't we?' said Malfoy, smirking, 'perhaps you would do better to respect one of higher status than –'

Lily laughed, and spoke. 'Of higher status than me, Malfoy?' she said, 'And for what? For the belief that I am beneath you only because of who I am, rather than what I have done?'

'Of course not,' said Malfoy, drawing out his wand, 'yet, you would learn the reason, I believe.'

'Respect is earned, not commanded,' she replied scathingly.

Malfoy wordlessly did a slashing movement through the air, and someone shouted a spell _(Declino!)_ in the distance. Lily felt a slight rush of air very near her face before it was deflected. She stared forwards, and saw Malfoy's spell collide with the wall, where it produced a sizeable hollow. James came sprinting into the corridor, looking furious. She realised, a moment later that he had conjured a shield wordlessly and, a moment later, deflected Malfoy's spell verbally. Sirius was accompanying him, and pointed his wand at Malfoy, binding him with an Incarceration Curse.

'Not too welcoming today, are we?' said James coolly, in reply to Malfoy's scowl.

'I don't remember inviting you, Potter,' he hissed.

'That's because you didn't, Slime ball,' said James disgustedly.

'_We_ don't remember asking for your opinion,' snarled Sirius, still pointing his wand threateningly at Malfoy.

'What, old Snivelly not here to help you?' growled James, when Malfoy attempted to untangle himself from the black, snakelike ropes he had been tightly bound with.

'No, _Potter_, he isn't,' retorted Lily defensively, 'why should he be?'

Sirius laughed. 'Hanging out with his slimy little friends, is he?' he said contemptuously.

Myra and Iris arrived a little later, looking agitated.

'What happened?' said Marlene frantically, 'are you alright?'

'Yes, of course I am,' said Lily.

'And did he try to do anything?'

'No –' began Lily, but James replied.

'Like hell he didn't,' snapped James. 'See that?' He pointed his wand at the hollow in the wall.

Marlene paled considerably. 'Gouging spell?' she whispered.

'Wouldn't put it past him,' muttered James.

'You know, Hilsus, you shouldn't have bothered coming here at all,' said Sirius, facing Myra.

'And we didn't ask you for favours, Black,' she spat.

Sirius immediately raised his wand, but Lily noticed that he did so hesitatingly.

'Your family's a whole bunch of _them_ –' yelled Myra, casting a glare at Malfoy, '- Black, why bother to save it?'

Myra's enraged voice echoed through the crowded corridor (people had started to form groups and arrive at the spot to watch the performance), and Sirius stiffened instinctively, and perhaps, unwittingly. Marlene gave a horrified gasp; Lily gave an exclamation of disbelief. James froze, jaw clenched in suppressed outrage. If a brawl started here, in the corridor, it would threaten Lily's and Remus' position as Gryffindor prefect.

Even Myra seemed to have realised the implication of her statement, because her eyes widened in surprise just as Marlene's hands flew up to cover her mouth behind her. Sirius merely stared stonily back at her, but Lily knew her words were irretrievable. Sirius whipped out his wand, but Myra blinked, mystified, as Lily pushed her out of his way. Iris rushed to her aid. She cried, _'Flipendo!'_ just as Sirius made a perfect circular motion with his wand and said, _'Inflatus!'_ Marlene exclaimed, _'Impedio!'_ And James waved his wand and yelled, _'Engorgio Skullus!'_

There was a blinding flash of several spells going in opposing directions. Sirius' spell stopped as it met with Marlene's Blocking Charm, and rebounded feebly towards him – he dodged and it hit Remus (who had just arrived) instead – Lily's spell veered towards James while he was casting his own and he ducked to avoid it; it hit Sirius – James' spell collided with Myra – Marlene's shield, which had weakened, made Remus' stunner pass through it, she avoided it, but it hit Lily.

Marlene stood up shakily from the ground to assess the damage. Remus was inflating at an alarming rate, having been hit by Sirius' spell, her spell had somehow hit Sirius and he was doing involuntary somersaults, Myra's head was oddly inflated by James's spell and Lily had been stunned. The crowd in the corridor looked overjoyed at the rare display of magical ability.

James snorted; evidently watching Sirius, then raised his wand and said calmly, _'Finite Incantatem.' _Sirius straightened, looking mildly bewildered. Marlene pointed her wand at Myra and then Remus, repeating the spell. Myra stood up, wincing, and Remus looked extremely embarrassed. Marlene kneeled beside Lily, tapped her forehead and whispered, '_Rennervate.'_

Professor McGonagall rushed into the corridor, her face white as sleet and her lips pressed into a thin line. Lily could not help likening her countenance to that of a disapproving hawk.

'Miss Evans!' she said sternly, and then turned to Remus, who was looking anywhere but at her. 'Mr Lupin! I would have expected better performance and management from both of you! If I had not been notified by Mr Potter here, doubtless the incident would not have been reported!' Lily stared at James in surprise. Since when had he begun handling responsibilities? James, however, looked ashamed as Sirius delivered him a look of disbelief and fury. 'Next time I shall not hesitate to put you off you prefect duties and position for a week. I am exempting you this time on account of only the fact that you had not begun the quarrel. I hope I shall see you begin to resolve it if it happens again.' Lily looked very relieved indeed at the pronouncement, but was successful in concealing it before McGonagall saw. Remus apologised, and Marlene said anxiously, 'Professor, surely this should not reduce points from Gryffindor. I mean, if no damage has been done and a house head was told by one of us, then surely –'

McGonagall paused. Then realisation flooded her face, and she said, 'Yes,' she began slowly, 'considering the conditions, no house points should be reduced. Nevertheless, there should be compensation. There is one way –' she turned to James, who backtracked apprehensively, '- all of you shall be serving detentions with Mr Argus Filch.'

'But, Professor –' began James furiously, he had, after all, been the one to inform her, and he could hardly have thought it was fair that he should still be punished.

'They're not –' continued Sirius indignantly.

'You shall be cleaning all the broom cupboards this evening and will be assembling at my office at seven o'clock precisely,' said McGonagall, continuing as though she had not been interrupted unceremoniously.

_Probably because she's used to them being obnoxious as always,_ thought Lily.

James glanced at her. She felt horrified at the prospect of attending a detention for the second time in her life, once again because of him or any other Marauder. He smirked in amusement. Then she turned to glare at him with a familiar expression of utmost irritation. Her emerald eyes blazed with fury, but he just grinned back at her cockily.

'You shall not enter my class for a week, Black,' said Professor McGonagall sternly, and Sirius looked even more outraged than before. Lily felt a twinge of vindictive satisfaction at his expression. 'The rest may follow me to their class.'

Lucius Malfoy, who had managed to remove the ropes binding him, stood up and spat, 'You'll regret this, Black!' before storming off. Sirius snorted. Lily, Marlene and James followed her into the Transfiguration classroom. Lily and Marlene took the seat at the front, while James took that nearest to the window at the back.

'You will be practising changing dinner plates into mushrooms. Now, I would request you all to see and attempt carefully how it is done.' She waved her wand and a dinner plate appeared out of thin air. She waved her wand and said in a clear, strong voice, _'Mutare,'_ and the dinner plate transformed into a mushroom of exactly the same size and colour.

_'Mutare,'_ said Lily clearly, and the dinner plate in front of her turned into a mushroom, although it was still half - finished. The top of the mushroom still resembled the dinner plate. She waved her wand and hastily transformed it back, before trying again. _'Mutare,'_ she said more forcefully, intending to transform it, and the dinner plate modified until it resembled a mushroom completely. She glanced sideways. Marlene had, after three attempts, managed to transform it.

'Very good, Ms. Evans,' said McGonagall, 'five points to Gryffindor.' Then she walked to the back of the class, and Lily turned to watch. James was lounging casually, staring out of the window. On his desk was a perfectly sized, shaped and coloured mushroom.

'Very good, Potter,' said McGonagall, giving him one of her rare smiles, 'ten points to Gryffindor on accomplishing it on first attempt.'

'Thanks, prof,' said James, grinning.

'Those who have managed to do the spell properly shall proceed further. Those who have not, however, shall practise it as homework.' There was a collective groan from the class as they filed outside for the Charms class.

'Well, that wasn't bad,' said Lily, as Marlene and her walked to the Charms class.

'No, it wasn't,' she said, 'we've managed to secure thirty - five points for Gryffindor in the first week.'

'Oh, look,' said Lily, 'we've reached.' They entered the class along with the rest of the students, and they settled down. As she and Marlene sat down, however, she noticed that neither James nor Sirius were present.

'They're skiving!' said Marlene.

'Yes, they are,' said Lily darkly, 'and I honestly couldn't care less. He thinks he can skive off a class just because he got thirty points today. Potter and his inflated ego.'

'You have to care, Lils!' said Marlene pleadingly, 'remember what they did the last time they didn't attend the class? It was horrible!'

'Oh God,' whispered Lily, shocked. How could she have forgotten? Potter and Black had used the Babbling Curse on Professor Flitwick and the students who attended the Charms class last time they hadn't. 'But what can we do now?'

'Oh, well ... nothing, I suppose,' said Marlene helplessly, but a note of frustration entered her voice. 'We'll just have to sit here.'

'Alright, but if they do anything, _anything_ at all this time, I'm giving them detention,' said Lily grimly.

'Wish I could've been Prefect,' said Marlene wistfully.

'So do I,' said Lily 'you'd have made a great Prefect. And it's not as though I really _wanted_ the badge or something. I was just happy because I got it, but I don't know now. It's getting more and more annoying each day.'

'Well, yes, it must be a little tiring sometimes,' said Marlene vaguely.

'Oh no!' exclaimed Lily, looking at her schedule. 'I've got patrols this evening!'

'Please pay attention!' squeaked Professor Flitwick. 'We will begin with the Colour Change Charm. The wand movement is given here -' he waved his wand and a pattern appeared in midair, '- and the incantation is "Exsisto", followed by the name of the colour you wish to change it into. You will begin by changing it into a colour closest to its original one. Ms. Eliot, if you would please hand out these to the students.'

'Yes, Professor,' she said, standing up and taking the box of white mice from him and distributing it among the students.

_'Exsisto Green,'_ said Lily, and the single white mouse in front of her changed into an immaculate shade of green.

_'Exsisto Blue,'_ said Marlene, and her own changed into a periwinkle blue.

Lily then attempted to turn her mouse into a vibrant green, and was successful. She waved her wand again, murmuring the incantation, and her mouse turned bright scarlet.

'Looks like it's blushing from top to bottom,' laughed Marlene. She was alternatively changing her mouse black and red. Lily laughed as she saw her mouse, whose tail, paws and nose were all red, and the rest of it was black.

'Multiple colours at one time,' said Marlene simply, setting her wand down.

_Exsisto Yellow!_ thought Lily, doing the spell wordlessly, but the colour was lighter than she had thought.

'Oh, well ...' she said, 'I'll have to try it again.'

'Did you attempt multiple - colour change, Ms. McKinnon?' said Professor Flitwick, staring at her mouse. Marlene nodded.

'Ten points to Gryffindor,' he said happily, and then glanced at Lily's. 'And I suppose you did so too?' he said.

'Oh, well, I did try, Professor, but I was trying to get a darker colour. It didn't work that well because I did it wordlessly.'

'Well, it is quite impressive for a fifth - year to do nevertheless. Ten points to Gryffindor.'

'Thanks, Professor,' smiled Lily.

He then walked to the back of the class, and nodded in approval as he saw Dorcas' mouse, which was completely blue, and awarded her with five points. Lily then asked for his permission to keep her mouse, and then exited the classroom with Marlene.


	4. Obey or Defy

**Obey or Defy**

At seven o'clock, two Marauders and two other students stood outside McGonagall's office. James was running a hand through his hair, as impossibly untameable as ever, Sirius, glancing nonchalantly at the window, Lily, tapping her foot every now and then and leaning against the wall, Marlene, leaning on the windowsill and gazing outside as her fingers drummed the sill rhythmically, Myra, arms folded and frowning impatiently and Remus, staring at the floor as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

A few minutes later, however, as the door of the office opened, Albus Dumbledore walked out, wearing magnificent crimson robes.

'Ah, I see you are present,' he sighed, smiling serenely as he addressed Sirius and James. 'Miss Evans, I strongly suspect that a certain disturbance will be manifesting the third – floor corridor. Do request investigate the matter.' He swept towards the Great Hall.

McGonagall considered both James and Sirius with a penetrating stare, as though determining whether they had brought with themselves any tool to ease their work. Upon finding no such evidence, however, she pursed her lips and said, 'Very well. Follow me.' She turned and walked forwards with brisk steps, and James had to swerve to avoid colliding with her as she stopped abruptly in front of a dark and grimy broom cupboard. 'You will start from the here,' she said, 'And you will be cleaning all the broom cupboards on this floor. No magic allowed.'

James looked aghast. 'All the broom cupboards on this floor, Professor?' he repeated feebly.

'No way! We'll never be able to finish on time!' interjected Sirius in horror.

'Yes, all the broom cupboards to be cleaned manually, Potter,' said McGonagall, annoyance colouring her voice for the first time.

'But, Professor -' began Myra.

'You may begin.' McGonagall said, returning towards her office.

James and Sirius exchanged despairing glances, and then strode off towards the nearest broom cupboard. Sirius wrenched the door open and both James and he entered. Sirius picked up a rag, an expression of utmost dislike on his face. James heard, very faintly, Lily's and Myra's voices fade away as they walked past the cupboard into another corridor. Marlene followed unwillingly.

'Never before have I regretted my actions so much,' said James mournfully.

'And why,' said Sirius, 'in the name of Merlin did you tell McGonagall that I sparked off a fight in the middle of a corridor full of students?'

'Well, er,' said James, humiliated that none of the Marauders had deciphered the logic behind his actions, 'it was a sort of diversion tactic, really. If McGonagall found out that we were duelling again, she'd give us detention, but, if one of us told her what exactly was happening, she'd go easy on us -' he gritted his teeth, '- but of course McKinnon had to spoil the plan, blabbing about house points.'

'Mate, I always thought you were barking mad,' said Sirius derisively, 'but now I know that you've positively lost it.'

'Yeah, well,' said James, 'it was a good plan.'

'Have you _ever_ noticed that none of your plans _ever_ actually work?' said Sirius emphatically.

'Never too late to keep trying,' said James optimistically.

'I swear I'm going to hex McKinnon next time I've to see her,' said a disgruntled Sirius as he cleaned the ceiling of the broom cupboard.

'Better be thankful Evans's not here ... Honestly, you would've thought I'd sent her for criminal trial, the way she was looking at me,' came James' muffled voice from the box he was presently immersed in.

'Bet you wish she looked at you the _other_ way, eh?' said Sirius, smirking.

'Shut up,' muttered James, and hurled his soiled rag at Sirius, who dodged it easily.

A second later, however, they heard a half hiss, half snarl originate from an invisible entity outside the door of the broom cupboard, which was open.

Mrs Norris, the skeletal, emaciated cat of the school's caretaker Argus Filch, stalked into view, her tail held high, her fangs bared and her hair standing on end.

Sirius blinked. 'Bugger,' he said, 'we're screwed.'

James suddenly leapt to his feet, wondering what McGonagall would have said if she heard Sirius swearing so openly. 'And we've got to get out of here,' he said hurriedly.

'Yeah, don't want another detention,' said Sirius, his expression akin to that of alarm.

James retrieved his cloak, which he had shrunk to fit in his cloak pocket. He flung it over Sirius and himself, as Sirius' stormy grey eyes surveyed the corridor for any suggestion of movement. Sirius retrieved his wand as Filch hurried into the corridor to stand near Miss Norris.

'Ah, we'll have them this time, won't we, my dear?' he said gleefully. 'Yerse, I'll tell Dumbledore ... Hang them by their hands ...' He picked up the rag from Mrs Norris' back, held it to his nose, and sniffed. 'Students ... In the corridor ... Where are they?'

James and Sirius cautiously tiptoed behind him, and took a short cut nearby until they were out of sight.

'Just my luck,' said James resentfully. 'Just had to land on the filthiest thing in the school – it'll probably need a good cleaning now.'

'Filch should've wiped his nose on it, it would've cleaned him up,' said Sirius. 'Wish it'd landed on Snivelly.'

James laughed. 'Like master, like cat.' He said darkly.

Both strolled casually for a minute.

'We just skipped major detention, though,' said James unconcernedly. 'If McGonagall saw us –' he stopped abruptly in his tracks, and Sirius, who had been shaking his head, stopped in an odd half - shake.

Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon and Jane Middleton stood in front of them. Lily regarded them with disbelief and anger, but Jane was suppressing a grin. Marlene, however, paid little heed - she was looking pointedly out of the window.

'You skipped detention?' said Lily in a deadly whisper. 'And you know perfectly well it isn't permitted.'

'Yeah, one of the reasons why we did it, really,' said Sirius, accompanying his response with a shrug.

Lily drew herself up to her full height, her hands at her hips, and glared at them. 'I'm telling McGonagall about this, Potter, and you'll be doing extra detentions now, and I'll make sure of it! We've been doing everything on this floor just because you're wasting time when you're supposed to be doing yours! And it's just because of you we have to do this rubbish when we should be studying for our OWLs!'

'No one's asked you to do it, as a matter of fact,' said James coldly.

'Whoa, Evans, you said all that in one breath?' said Sirius, raising an eyebrow.

'YES, I DID!' shouted Lily. 'And I don't need anyone to ask me to do it because I'm aware that if I don't I'm going to be given the same detention for a week!'

'Wait, what?' croaked James. 'We have to do the same detention for a week if -'

'- you don't do it now, yes. And I'm not wasting my time here just because you're doing it.' She replied haughtily, stalking off towards McGonagall's office. 'And you'll stay here until I'm back!' she snapped, as Sirius made to escape.

'You know, I would've thought you'd learned not to get on her bad side by now,' sighed Marlene wearily.

'Oh, please,' scoffed Jane, 'she doesn't ask them to cause trouble all the time.'

'You're one to speak, Middleton ...' said Sirius, (Jane huffed and stalked off as well) before frowning, '... that sounded so wrong ...'

_'Did you just apologize to the enemy?'_ said James furiously, rounding on Sirius, who looked outraged.

'What -?' he said defensively, 'no, I didn't!'

'Yeah, right,' scoffed James, '_that sounded so wrong? _What was that?'

'Well, my aunt's surname -' Sirius gestured, '- was Middleton. Her surname -' he pointed at Jane's now distant form, '- is Middleton. I call her Middleton, it sounds like I'm calling my aunt Middleton.'

James shifted, but stopped suddenly. He was sure, that in the faint glow of the lanterns, his cloak had shimmered silver ephemerally, and even though it had been an insignificant moment, Marlene had noticed.

'What's that?' said Marlene in surprise, 'give it to me.'

'Highly unlikely,' said James, retreating cautiously when Iris narrowed her eyes.

'What's so important that you can't show me?' said Iris disbelievingly.

'Nothing, nothing,' said Sirius hastily, 'just a -'

'- a - a family heirloom,' said James.

'A family heirloom,' said Iris. 'I wonder why I don't know?'

'Well, it's not his family heirloom,' said Sirius, 'my uncle Tiberius gave it to me.'

'Then why aren't you carrying it around?' said Marlene.

'Well, I've got no pockets, in case you haven't noticed,' said Sirius.

'Alright, then,' she relented, but still looked suspiciously at them. At that moment, James almost tripped, but managed to regain his balance his time. However, a cloak with glimmering silver, translucent folds fell from his pocket onto the floor. It seemed strangely surreal against the stone floor, like silken strands woven from both water and air and bound together by an unseen force.

'An Invisibility Cloak?' exclaimed Marlene, before pointing her wand at it, _'Engorgio.'_

The cloak returned to its original size. James and Sirius stared guiltily at her, but she laughed, almost in relief.

'That's what you were hiding?' she said incredulously. _'Accio Clo -'_

_'- Protego!'_ said James desperately, and Cloak soared back to the ground.

_'Locomotor Wibbly!' _she said, turning her wand on Sirius.

_'Protego!'_ he roared, and the spell rebounded. 'Still doing third - year spells, Skinny?' he jeered.

_'Confundo!'_ yelled James, pointing his wand at Iris, who dodged the spell.

_'Protego!'_ she cried, _'Accio!'_ the cloak flew into her hand, but James' next spell tore the shield apart.

_'Lancino Maxima!'_ he yelled, pointing his wand at the shield, and Iris saw, much to her horror, the shield fall apart as though it had been ruptured.

_'Accio Clo -'_ yelled Sirius, but dodged when Iris sent a Stunning Spell his way.

'Tough competition, aren't you?' said Sirius. 'Well, don't worry, we won't go easy now.'

_'Descendo!'_ he yelled, pointing his wand at the tile she was standing on, and it began caving downwards.

_'Finite!'_ she cried, and it froze.

_'Immobulus!'_ shouted James.

_'Protego!'_ she said desperately, his spell rebounded.

_'Concio!'_ she gasped, pointing her wand at the Cloak, and then pointed her wand at herself. It floated gently into her hand. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her, and sighed in relief.

Sirius cursed resentfully, and both James and he disappeared as they tapped their heads with their wands and muttered an incantation. They stood by the wall, watching what was happening.

'Potter! Black!' said McGonagall, rushing into the corridor. 'You will –'

She stopped suddenly, staring ahead. Lily followed her gaze, and discovered an empty corridor.

'What?' she said, surprised. 'But I told them to stay here! And Iris kept wa –'

Marlene walked into view, looking slightly guilty.

'I tried to stop them,' she said remorsefully, 'I even managed to take that cloak of theirs, but they just sort of tapped their heads with their wands, and a second later, they were invisible.'

'A Disillusionment Charm?' breathed Lily, 'But that's a NEWT level spell.'

'Which they have mastered already, doubtless,' said McGonagall. 'Yet, they might still be here.'

'Uh - oh,' muttered James and Sirius together, backing away and entering another corridor. James placed his ear against the wall to listen.

_'Homenum Revelio,' _said McGonagall.

'Perhaps not,' she sighed. 'I would advise you to return to your dormitories. They have departed already.'

'But, Professor –' began Lily, and then stopped abruptly. They heard a slight shuffling of feet, and gathered that Lily and Marlene had left the corridor.

'Alright,' said Sirius, as McGonagall's footsteps faded away, 'they're gone.'

'This. Means. War.' Growled Sirius. 'I'm going to take revenge.'

'So am I,' hissed James, 'and I've an idea. We're going to charm that painting of Evans that Eliot made.'

'Good idea,' said Sirius, pacing like a caged animal. Then he walked to the window, and holding his wand aloft, snarled, _'Accio Tiger Lily.'_

'Tiger Lily?' said James incredulously.

'McKinnon actually named it,' snorted Sirius, catching the painting as it soared through the window. 'We don't have much time,' he said, 'five minutes is the deadline.'

'OK,' continued Sirius, 'we'll charm it to throw fire.'

'Hold on - _Repello.'_ There was a slight rippling through the air as James cast the Repelling Charm.

'Yeah, OK - now the spells,' said Sirius, _'Incendio Sustino.' _Fire burst from Lily's wand and her hair, but James' spell prevented it from haring either of them. Even her eyes seemed to blaze with the flame.

'Alright,' said James, 'only two minutes, we've got to fix it to the wall outside Gryffindor Tower.'

'We'll take the shortcut,' said Sirius.

They both climbed a floor down and then slipped into a door pretending to be a wall. It was a narrow, poorly lit passage, and both James and Sirius, being tall, had to stoop. They reached the Gryffindor Tower soon enough; the passage opened right in front of it. James flicked his wand and the portrait flew to the wall, hovering over it.

_'Glutino,'_ he murmured, and it fixed itself to the wall. Then, very quietly, both he and Sirius slunk into the Common Room. He slipped into the armchair by the fire near Remus, and quipped, 'What's up, old pal? Sti -' he did not have time to finish, because Lily Evans had stormed furiously into the Common Room. He turned back towards the fire, smirking, but started when a colossal flame flew overhead.

'What the –' he said loudly, leaping to his feet, as did Sirius.

He stopped as he saw Lily. She looked the same as she usually did when she was angry – her vivid emerald eyes blazed with fierce anger, and her fiery tresses, contrasting strikingly against her pale skin, seemed to be as alive as intense flames.

'Potter,' she hissed vindictively, 'what the _hell_ did you mean by that?'

'That,' he said indifferently, 'was simply a little joke, nothing to get too worked up about ...'

'Not for YOU!' she shouted, incensed, her words resonating through the deafeningly silent common room. People were staring between them, accustomed to their intermittent fights. 'It's easy for you to say that, just because you think it's amusing to mock someone for whom they are! It's easy for you to just sit there like you don't give a damn because it's not you being made some sort of joke people can laugh their heads off at! You know what? Just because you've never had a single insult thrown in your face just to make it obvious doesn't mean you're so bloody perfect there's nothing wrong with you! Just because you've never had to listen to people thinking it's so funny have you as an excuse for a joke doesn't mean you can't be used as one! You think you're such an entertainer, don't you, and then I think you'd stop using others as your idea of a joke because you can't do it yourself!'

She turned on her heel and stormed towards the Girls Dormitory.

James stared at Sirius. 'What did I do now?'

'Woman, mate,' said Sirius sagely, 'art the most complex creature thou shalt ever see.'

'Speak in English, will you?' said James, raising an eyebrow. 'Honestly, you'd think that _I_ do all of the stuff that happens to her.'

'As a matter of fact, Sirius,' said Remus, glancing above his formidable copy of _'The Ancient Art of Runic Magic', _'you really should stop pranking on her – it isn't really going to help Prongsie.'

'Don't use that nickname,' growled James.

'How did she say all that at once, though?' said Sirius wonderingly. 'Sometimes I think she prepares a speech to recite ...'

Remus snorted. 'Yeah, I'm so _touched_ to know she wastes all that effort on me,' said James sarcastically.

'Touché,' said Sirius, grinning.

'That wasn't funny!'

They whirled around. Marlene stood before them, looking indignant.

'That wasn't funny at all!' she said. 'She doesn't even do anything, she didn't even ask McGonagall to search for you when you gave her the slip!'

'She - she didn't?' said James, astonished.

'No, she didn't! I don't know why she even bothered, because you're just going to laugh it off and forget it!'

'Exactly, McKinnon, because we don't want all that from you,' said Sirius dispassionately. He had to admit that she was very pretty ... No, he should not pay attention to the opposing group, it will be betrayal of the Marauders and violation of their rules (the only rules they ever respected, because they were a violation of every other rule).

'And how did you get hold of my painting?' she demanded, turning to Remus, who held his hands up in surrender. 'Not my idea!' he said.

'Nicked it,' said James casually. 'It's over there,' he said, pointing towards an armchair near the fire. She picked it up and went to the Girls' Dormitories.

'So,' he said, turning back to Sirius and Remus, 'what's the next prank?'

'Are you still eager on getting into trouble so soon?' said Remus, thunderstruck.

'Yep. We Marauders can plan a prank in fifteen minutes,' said Sirius and James in unison. 'But not without Loopy Lupin.'

Remus rolled his eyes. 'Believe it or not, I have to give hats off to your stupidity, if not your stubbornness.'

'Comment's getting old,' said Sirius, 'Rem, old chum ... hey, that rhymed.'

'Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. You are _not_, I repeat, are _not_ becoming a poet.'

'What gave you the idea?' said James.

'Sibla's been talking in rhyme quite often nowadays.' Quipped Peter.

'Sibla?' said Sirius.

'You,' said James, '"Si" for Sirius, "Bla" for Black.'

'Not a good name,' clarified Sirius, 'it's girlish.'

'Alright,' said James loudly, 'can we return to the realm of sanity, people?' Belinda Quinn, a tall, slim girl with flawlessly pale skin, glowing golden hair and clear blue eyes giggled loudly from the corner, obviously greatly amused by his remark. She was known for being beautiful. James grinned back at her, and she blushed profusely, dissolving into a fit of giggles again.

'We've a Hogsmeade trip this weekend, don't we?' said James. Remus nodded. 'Good.' He stood up and walked over to the table at which Belinda was sitting.

'Hey, Belinda,' he said, and she looked up, a smile spreading across her face, revealing all of her dazzling white teeth, 'we have a Hogsmeade trip this weekend, so I was wondering whether you might want to go out with me ...'

'Yes, course, James,' she said, or rather, sang. Even her voice was musical.

'Alright,' he said smoothly, 'be ready at six in the Common Room.'

She nodded then, her hair flowing like golden waters around her glorious face. He gave her his well - known grin and returned to his group.

'Asked her out?' said Remus.

'Yeah,' he said, stretching. 'She agreed.'

'I'm going to ask Carmilla,' said Sirius, 'she's her sister, right?' Remus and James merely exchanged glances which said, "He's hopeless."

* * *

Sirius and James lurked, as they very rarely did, within the library, hidden by shelves and stacks of books. They had organised yet another prank, and

'I really, really, really don't want to do this,' said James, 'Evans's going to kill me.'

Sirius shushed him and motioned him to wait and watch.

'_Where's_ that book?' said Marlene as she searched the shelves of the Library.

'Which book?' said Lily, looking up from her Potions essay on _Aconite or Wolfsbane._

_'Theory of Advanced Defensive Spells!'_ said Marlene. 'And I can't find it anywhere, I've been searching for about – oh, right. I forgot. _Accio Theory of Adva -' _

She was interrupted by a distinctively large and, judging by the light that illuminated the entire library, destructive explosion. Madam Pince, who had been standing near them, ran in the direction of the explosion. Lily and Marlene exchanged mildly amused glances and stood up to follow her.

James tried desperately to stifle his laugh, and Sirius clamped a hand over his mouth.

'Wait,' said Lily sharply. 'We'd better protect our essays, just in case – _Impervius.'_

'Alright,' said Lily nervously. 'I suppose I'll have to go and cover it up.'

'One of the disadvantages of being a prefect,' said Marlene sympathetically.

'C'mon,' said Sirius, flinging the Cloak over himself and James. They followed Lily, Marlene and Madam Pince.

Iris followed Lily towards an area of the library where a multitude of students had assembled to see what had happened. Iris pushed her way towards the centre, and gasped in surprise.

The library's appearance was as immaculate as always. There did not seem to be a single signification of any modification, except that every shelf, chair, wall and window was changing size and colour as the others did and transforming consequently to blend in with the new layouts. Iris then turned, and gave another gasp – of horror.

Madam Pince had arrived and was standing behind them, attempting fruitlessly to look angry, because she - like the library - was altering her appearance involuntarily but comically every once in a while.

Her features, hair, limbs, height and face – everything was changing every few minutes. There was utter silence in the library for a while. Then a fourth – year girl with dark hair and eyes in the far corner – Laura Vane – burst into laughter, followed soon after by almost all the other students.

_'Perire Effectus,' _said Lily, performing a complicated double – movement with her wand.

Madam Pince resumed her normal appearance and her outrage.

'Youuu!' she howled, pointing her finger at Lily, who jumped in shock. 'How dare you besmirch the library! What were you doing, lurking out of sight when –'

There was a second explosion – from another part of the library. Features thick with rage, Madam Pince followed a surprised Marlene, an exasperated Lily and the other students into a yet undiscovered part of the library. There was an extraordinary difference in the manner with which the contours of the library had been considered worthy of mistreatment here.

Every single book from the unknown shelves of the library had somehow been animated to jump off their respective shelves and assemble on the floor to form a choir. Lily could not quite discern the low hum the choir was emitting, yet, within a few moments, the sound magically and gradually magnified so that it echoed through the deafening silence of the library. Then, they heard, very clearly, each word of the song sung by the choir of the once inanimate books, ranging from paper – thin to as thick as a broom's tail.

_'Ah, but we all would so love_

_If ever given a choice_

_To very much remain above_

_The drone of essays_

_And the great vice of learning_

_So, hear one and all_

_As we summon our yearning_

_To flee the drudgery_

_Of teachers and students alike_

_For from this slavery_

_We are mercifully awake_

_Free from this plight_

_We having so expressed, and you understood_

_Would claim our right_

_To not serve study as we would and we should!'_

And then, with that final note, all the books, which had been open, earlier, closed, and spectacularly went back to the shelves.

'We'll watch the rest of it from outside,' said Sirius, and they disappeared behind a shelf near the window. Seconds later, they emerged at the door which led into the Library. Both he and Sirius quickly snuck behind a suit of armour.

Simultaneously, all the shelves withdrew, and from both sides two walls appeared suddenly and joined together, concealing them from view. Then, in magnificent, bold red and black letters, there appeared a message out of thin air, hovering above their heads.

**GREETINGS, STUDENTS WHO RIGHTLY VALUE OUR NOBLE EFFORT; **

**WE HOPE THAT WE PRESENT AN EXAMPLE TO OUR LOYAL ADMIRERS AND FOLLOWERS, **

**AND THAT GOOD OLD PINCE MAY HAVE ENJOYED IT AS WELL …**

**Insincerely, The Marauders (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs)**

James stuffed his knuckles into his mouth to stifle his laugh.

Madam Pince seemed to have surpassed speech as her face turned purple with rage. A second later, she emitted a high – pitched shriek and James was momentarily torn between wondering whether his ears had suffered considerable damage and whether he had actually heard a few glass panes shatter in the distance.

'POTTER AND BLACK!' bellowed Madam Pince, face transforming into an ugly snarl. 'THIS HAS CROSSED THE LIMIT! GET HERE _RIGHT NOW!_ I KNOW YOU ARE IN HERE, SHOW YOURSELVES, OR I AM REPORTING THIS TO MCGONAGALL, IMMEDIATELY!'

'Now, now, Professor,' said Sirius with remarkable ease, seemingly materialising out of thin air (and it would appear so to many who hadn't heard of James' Invisibility Cloak). 'You don't want to yell so much, it isn't healthy, you know.' He strode forward casually, his hair falling in front of his eyes with classic elegance. A moment later, James stepped out from behind a suit of armour, his hands deep in his pockets and a smirk on his handsome face. 'Yeah, Professor,' he added, eyes alight with poorly disguised amusement. James continued, ignoring the other students. 'I really reckon that you'd done all of it already inside the Library. Don't overdose, it's unhealthy.' Lily glanced at Marlene. Her face expressed all of the shock she felt herself at them addressing a teacher in this way, if not the anger.

James noticed Marlene whispering to Lily, and then turned, and weaving her way out of the crowd, walked silently towards the corridor that he knew led to McGonagall's office.

'Potter! Black!' McGonagall came flying into the corridor minutes later, her face even whiter than it had been earlier and her lips drawn into a line thinner than any he had ever seen before. 'This is outrageous behaviour –'

'Ah, but we know, charming Professor,' said James solemnly, 'and truly regret our actions. We hope sincerely that our misconduct will be forgiven.'

'Potter, Black, to my office. _Now_.' She said, her words thick with fury.

James and Sirius exchanged gloomy looks and followed her out of the corridor. Nevertheless, all of the students in the corridor looked highly amused as they filtered out of the corridor and spoke about it even after the Marauders' departure.

'That,' said Myra, appearing by Lily's side, 'was brilliant.'

'Brilliant?' said Lily incredulously. 'They could've damaged the library!'

'So?' said Myra, shrugging, 'it's not as though any of us really like going inside it.'

'But –' began Lily, 'I've – I've left my Potions essay inside it, and Marlene has left her DADA essay as well! How am I going to get it now? The door's sealed itself!'

'It has?' said Myra, looking mildly surprised, 'well, never mind that, I've got your stuff – and the book.' She added in an undertone.

'So much for just a book,' said Marlene, looking exhausted as she appeared by Lily's other side. Both Myra and Lily laughed.

'D'you think the door's going to open again, though?' said Marlene wonderingly.

'I really hope not,' said Myra, and they exited the corridor, laughing.

James and Sirius, who had been listening, rolled their eyes and continued walking to McGonagall's office.

'Hypocrite,' muttered James. They entered her office and sat down.

James fidgeted uncomfortably as McGonagall surveyed him and Sirius with extreme disapproval.

'Broom cupboards again, Potter and Black, since you avoided doing so last time.' She said sternly. Sirius looked horrified, as though she had announced that he will be banned from playing Quidditch.

'Broom cupboards again, Professor?' said Sirius weakly. 'Blimey ...'

'Assuredly,' said McGonagall.

'But – Professor – couldn't we do something else?' said James hopefully.

'No Potter, and you two will be doing so on different floors,' said McGonagall severely.

James looked relieved, but Sirius looked aghast.

'Alright then, Professor,' said James quickly, before standing up to leave. 'I s'pose I'd better start now?'

McGonagall regarded him suspiciously – James was the last person who she would expect to be so obedient.

'But, Professor,' said Sirius persistently, 'wouldn't it save time if we did it together?'

'Absolutely not, Mr Black,' said McGonagall, with even more than her usual severity. Sirius looked rather disappointed, but James looked perfectly delighted that he would perhaps escape any more detentions, if he worked alone and did create any chaos – or at least, tried to refrain from doing so. 'I do not wish for any more havoc – which seems to occur best especially when you two strive together for it.'

'I am honoured, Professor.' Said Sirius truthfully, offering a solemn bow to the transfiguration professor.

'Mr Black –' began McGonagall dangerously, but James spoke.

'No offense intended, Minnie,' he said, grinning.

'Do not call me Minnie!' said McGonagall, 'Ten points from Gryffindor!'

Both James and Sirius bowed together in unassailable harmonization, smiling innocently, before turning to exit the office.

'And fifteen points to Gryffindor, Black and Potter,' said McGonagall, 'that was exceptionally advanced transfiguration which you used on the library.'

'Honestly, those two,' muttered McGonagall as they exited the office. 'If ever I saw such a pair of troublemakers in my life ...'

_'Amplifico Sonus,'_ muttered James and Sirius in unison, pointing their wands under the door, and they heard, with exceptional clarity, McGonagall's words - 'Honestly, those two, if ever I saw such a pair of troublemakers in my life ...'

James doubled over with silent laughter, and Sirius leaned on the nearest pillar for support, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

'That is _one_ useful spell,' said James, wiping away a tear of mirth.

'I would've thought she didn't know by now that we'd be listening,' scoffed Sirius.

'Couldn't have said it better myself,' said James, openly laughing as they reached the nearest broom cupboard.

'Yeah,' sighed Sirius, and then held up a cloth. 'Let's get to work?' he said dispiritedly.

James grimaced. 'Sure,' he said unenthusiastically, and then turned to depart.

'Just keep the two - way mirror, alright? I'm going to get siriusly bored ...' said Sirius, tossing a jagged piece of mirror at James, who caught it, grinning.


	5. Defy Dishonour

**Defy Dishonour**

James yawned silently as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He glanced outside, and knew from the mellow sunlight and the scarlet blossoming on the pale sky of dawn that it was early morning.

He picked up his wand, and, turning over, prodded Sirius.

'Whadooant?' mumbled Sirius incoherently.

'We've got Quidditch practise in fifteen minutes,' said James, enunciating each word clearly.

'Yore ...' Replied Sirius groggily, turning over, but suddenly sat up. 'Wait, what?' he said wildly. 'In fifteen minutes?'

'You sure switch moods fast,' said James, snorting.

'That's because I'm highly gifted,' said Sirius, continuing with his usual immodesty as he climbed hastily out of bed.

'Enough to mumble about Snivellus while sleeping?' said James, snickering, 'yeah, I get the idea.'

'Yeah, I was thinking about locking you with him in a broom closet,' said Sirius.

'Jealous, eh?' said James, 'maybe I'll tell Snivelly ...'

'Sure,' said Sirius sarcastically, before waving his wand at the door and muttering, _'Clausus Sanus.'_

'And that's for?' said James, utterly perplexed.

'Blocks the sound. Read the theory for making spells, used it.' Said Sirius knowledgeably.

'You actually read?' said James incredulously, 'that's new.'

'Yeah, sometimes, or I wouldn't know what to do in a really spectacular prank, would I?'

'Alright,' said James, alarmed, 'I get the idea. You. Reading. That's the ultimate cataclysm, mate.'

'Good to know,' said Sirius airily.

'Now let's get to the field?' said James impatiently.

'Wait,' said Sirius, as James bolted to the door, 'not the door – how about a dramatic entrance?'

James grinned conspiratorially. 'Not a bad idea, Sirius, not a bad idea ...'

'Okay, we'll take some of the Dr. Filibuster's Fireworks we've got –' said Sirius, rubbing his hands in mingled excitement and anticipation.

'- and we'll charm them to transfigure into the house animals –' said James.

'- the biggest will be the lion, of course, and then –'

'- we'll charm them to transfigure into 'Slytherin Stinks!' in the end, –'

'- then we'll make sure that all the Slytherin's brooms and Quidditch gear and stuff turn completely green!' said Sirius.

'Brilliant!' they said together.

'Alright,' said James, 'I get the plan, but how are we going to do that in –' he checked his watch, '- thirteen minutes?'

'Plenty of time,' said Sirius, 'we'll just sneak into the changing rooms and turn all of their stuff green.'

'We'd better do the crackers first, though,' said James, fishing out his wand.

'Yeah, OK,' said Sirius, kicking open the nearest trunk. Both he and James stared at it in concentration, and performing a few complicated wand movements, muttered an incantation, _'Innotescat tempus; Obedire Ordinem. Immuti Animals. Mirifico Lion. Immuti Words. Impervius Incantatem.'_

'OK,' said Sirius, when the sudden, eerie red and yellow glow of the crackers had diminished, 'now, to the changing rooms.'

'Alright,' said James, mounting his broom and flying out of the window. Sirius mounted his broom and followed James out of the window of the Boys Dormitory in Gryffindor tower.

They flew over the Quidditch pitch, and landed silently near the Slytherins' changing rooms. James and Sirius drew out their wands and waved them in identical movements for the second time that day, _'Innotescat Tempus; Obedire Ordinem. Exsisto Green.'_

'And we've got just a few minutes to get to the pitch,' said James.

'Nah, that won't be problem,' said Sirius, 'we aren't brilliant players for nothing.'

'Did you see old Pince's face last time?' said James abruptly, snickering as he and Sirius mounted their brooms again and set off towards the pitch. 'Potter and Black, get here right now, or I'll tell McGonagall ...'

'As though Minnie hadn't heard her already,' said Sirius, snorting, 'she really should've kept that look which she got in the library – healthy change.'

They laughed and landed seconds later on the smooth, even grass of the pitch. Adrian Johnson, a sixth – year Gryffindor and the team captain, scrutinized them.

'Right, so, team,' he began, 'we got really tough competition from the snakes last time, but that doesn't mean we're going to give up, or resort to crude tactics. We're going to play harder, faster, and we're going to flatten 'em this time!' There were many cheers of agreement and appreciation at this from the team, 'I've got some really good strategies this time, and it'll take a lot for them to beat us with all those, and especially some really good players on our team – Black, Potters, Wood – anyway, as I said, we've got the strategies, and there are some moves as well. In short, there's a lot to do, so let's get started. Gryffindor rules!' he roared, and the rest of the team followed, the loudest being James and Sirius.

They spent the next hour in practise, and only when James and Sirius faked having a dislocated shoulder and torn tendon respectively, did Adrian allow them to escape the field for a much needed breakfast in the Great Hall.

'I'll race you to the Hall,' said James, grinning.

'Bring it on,' said Sirius coolly. 'One, two, three, GO!'

They sprinted towards the Hall, brooms in hand, and James let out a groan of frustration when Sirius managed to beat him. They entered the Great Hall, sweating from the exertion of having practised for nearly an hour and then having run to the Great Hall. They saw Lily and Iris sitting at the table a little distance away. Iris looked skywards at the clear blue roof of the Great Hall, turning her wand artistically as she did so, and started when snowflakes fell and landed gently on the rim of her goblet.

'Excellent Quidditch conditions,' said Myra, flopping down on the bench, while Lily sat more gracefully, although unconsciously so.

'I only hope that Potter and Black don't do anything this time,' said Marlene, as Sirius and James walked to them.

'Nah, it can't be that bad. Besides,' said Myra, grinning slowly, 'you've got to admit that it was brilliant last time.'

'But,' said Iris earnestly, 'I mean, it was funny, but they shouldn't do it if it brings down their chances of winning.'

'Don't bother, Eliot,' said Sirius dismissively, 'it's nothing major this time.'

'No, I don't think it will really affect the match,' said Lily, 'they're pretty serious about Quidditch, which also happens to be the only thing they're ever serious about.'

'And how would you know about that, Evans?' said James, plopping down beside Lily on the bench.

'Did I ask you to sit down here?' replied Lily icily.

'Nope,' he said casually.

'Then why are you here?' she snapped.

'Merlin, Evans,' said James, 'this is a public place. I can sit anywhere I want, you know -'

'- except for here!' she hissed with disquieting vehemence. 'Why aren't you sitting with your friends, Potter?'

'Friends?' he said blankly, before comprehension dawned on his face. 'Remmy's trying to read up the library and Pete's regurgitating last night's feast.' There was a slight pause after his statement.

'Actually, I think Remus has read up the entire library already,' said Sirius, 'he might be trying to pinch some of your books.'

'That's a bit of an odd combination, don't you think?' said Myra, looking disgusted, probably at Peter's present course of activity.

'Why is Remus studying now?' said Iris, appearing perplexed. 'The term's only just begun, we don't have OWLs until months later.'

'Don't ask me, I've no idea,' said James, shrugging, 'that's the same old Remmy for you. Obsession towards books is in his blood.'

Lily started suddenly, staring towards the window, eyes widening with some unknown emotion.

'What now?' said Iris, feeling confused for the second time on that day.

'The match has started,' she said in a ghostly whisper, before regaining her usual zeal. 'What on Earth, Potter?' she yelled, 'why aren't you on the pitch right now?' James looked taken aback at the sudden change in mood, but he looked horrified soon enough.

'No way!' squeaked Myra.

'What?' yelped James, 'the match's begun?'

He leapt over the table, earning glares from the students whose plates he had knocked over in the process. Iris and Myra followed seconds later, the latter holding her Silver Arrow.

'Blimey!' he said, 'I swear I told Hilsus to tell Addy to wait till I get to the pitch!' he said, and Iris and Lily followed in his wake, sprinting towards the Great Hall door, which opened of its own accord.

'Well, I did tell him!' yelled Myra.

'What the -' he yelled in an agitated voice, before turning around to see a frantic McGonagall, a sight which was rarely seen.

'Potter!' she said, speaking in a rush, 'get to the pitch now! Take your broom!' she held out his Nimbus 1700, and he grabbed it hastily, nodding vigorously.

'Thanks, Professor,' he yelled over his shoulder, dashing off towards the pitch with Myra.

They ran then, at full speed, to the pitch, and assembled along with the rest of the team at the pitch.

'Sorry about the delay!' bellowed James in Adrian's direction.

'We were about to replace you, Potter,' he replied, gnashing his teeth together.

'Yeah, I know, I'm really sorry,' said Myra, mounting on her broom, only to find that James had taken off already. She flew along with team into the immense vastness of the sky. They shot towards the ground seconds later and assimilated in a triangular formation. Iris leaned forward expectantly. Adrian shouted instructions to his team, all of whom followed. At one corner of the triangle, Sirius was hovering feet above the ground. And then, in a flawless formation, they returned to the ground.

'Captains, shake hands,' said Laura Vane, commentator on the Quidditch matches.

'Why haven't we started already?' said Myra in a frustrated voice after a pause of a few minutes, during which none of the teams had shown any signs of beginning the match.

A blinding flash of light erupted suddenly in the middle of the pitch. Four streaks of light emerged from it, emitting sparks. Each of the four streaks of light, holding likeness to comets in appearance, transformed into the four house animals - a serpent and a lion, followed by an eagle and a badger - _bang!_ - All except the lion diminished, the lion then amplifying its earlier size so that it had increased tenfold - _bang!_ - the lion transformed into a sentence in green : Slytherin Stinks!

At the same time, the Slytherin team arrived on the pitch, all of them looking mutinous, and James knew why. Their Quidditch robes and even their broomsticks had a turned a vivid, poisonous green. He glanced at the commentator's podium, only to find Sirius speaking instead of Laura.

'The standard counter - jinx is _Perire Effectus_,' he said loudly, 'and that's the wand movement,' he waved his wand, and a pattern appeared in midair. Some of the team regarded him suspiciously, but most drew out their wands, and, glancing at the pattern a few times to ensure accuracy, muttered, _'Perire Effectus.'_

'They should know better than to trust Sirius,' said James.

Immediately, the green colour of the Slytherin team's robes seemed to seep into their skin as well, because even their skin, hair and eyes turned green as a result.

'Whoops,' said Sirius carelessly, 's'pose it was the wrong spell, people.'

There was an instantaneous uproar of mingled outrage, anger and humiliation from the Slytherin team, all of whom began unhesitatingly to hurl every possible jinx, hex and curse in his direction. Sirius simply tapped his head with his wand, and a moment later, he disappeared from sight. His voice materialised seemingly out of air as he yelled, _'Protego Maxima!' _and a bluish - white light erupted from his wand. Almost instantly, Lily saw all of the spells cast in his direction rebound, even the curses which she knew from experience were difficult to repel.

_'Finite Incantatem!'_ yelled James, waving his wand, and immediately, all of the Slytherins resumed normalcy, 'now can we begin the match, people? We've wasted twenty or so minutes already!

'That was because of you!' yelled Michael Smith furiously, captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

'Well spotted,' said Sirius sarcastically, 'now let's get on with the match.'

'When did you reach here?' inquired James.

'I flew out of a window in the Hall,' said Sirius.

'Alright,' said Laura Vane firmly, as though to reinforce her point, 'captains, please shake hands.'

Johnson and Smith shuffled forward reluctantly, and shook hands, each attempting to intimidate the other with a steely gaze.

'Alright, one, two three, GO!' bellowed Madam Hooch, and each of the two teams took off with a spectacular sweep of red and green.

'Teams've taken positions, and the Quaffle's thrown -' bellowed Laura into the microphone, '- and the game's ON!'

James was the first to seize the Quaffle, and he soared upwards as Smith followed him in hot pursuit. He flew in a zigzagging pattern, chuckling as Smith was thrown off - track.

'You'll pay, Potter!' he spat.

'You really need to control that temper!' James yelled back. He suddenly changed direction and charged towards the ground, eliciting enthusiastic whoops and cheers when he pulled up and threw the Quaffle to Myra in simultaneity. Smith, however, not having predicted his true intentions in blind fury, collided sickeningly with the ground.

'Pot throws the Quaffle to Hil,' yelled Laura cheerfully, and the crowd laughed, 'brilliant move, and Smith's lost his gut -'

'- Miss Vane -' said McGonagall warningly.

'- 'Tis all right, Professor, we wouldn't mind what's happened to him anyway -'

James laughed, returning to the game.

McGonagall made a move to snatch the microphone from Laura at this point, but the latter apologised with a 'Sorry, sorry ...'.

'All right,' she continued, 'As I was saying, Smith's having a brawl with the pitch, but he's out cold now, so the Gryffs are getting on with the game.'

James watched Jamille Bell rush forwards to catch the Quaffle he had thrown, but Wilson appeared by her side in a second, speeding along with her. He was gaining on her, but she was nearer to it. She reached her hand to catch the Quaffle -

'Potter's now thrown the Quaffle to Bell but - oh no! - Wilson's got the Quaffle!'

James punched the air in anger. Swearing under his breath, he rushed into the cluster of green, and the players scattered. Meanwhile, he saw Wilson tuck the Quaffle under his arm and raise his hand -

'But I s'pose accidents happen, and even the Snakes can catch the Quaffle by mistake -' the crowd roared with laughter, but McGonagall looked disapproving, '- anyway, Wilson's trying to manhandle the Quaffle, wait, no, he's actually trying to throw it to Alder - no, Alden - but Bell gets the Quaffle!'

'Ha!' said James smugly.

'BRILLIANT, BELL!' he heard Adrian shout. Then, turning to James, he bellowed, 'GET THEM, POTTER!'

James winked and positioned himself at some distance from the Slytherin goal post.

'Take that, you bunch of idiots! That's how you play a game!' yelled Laura.

'Vane!' said McGonagall, shocked.

'Sorry, Professor, can't help being honest!' she said, and the Gryffindor crowd and team cheered. There were several roars of 'Too right!' which earned several insults from the crowd of Slytherins in return.

James saw Jamille enter the area around the Slytherin goal post.

_'Yes!'_ he said.

She raised her hand and hurled the Quaffle at the left goal post -

'Bell throws the Quaffle at Williams, but Williams misses, and Gryffindor scores! Gryffindor leading ten - zero!'

'YEAH!' yelled James, and the rest of the team cheered with him. He headed towards the Quaffle, which was losing height, and caught it. He threw it to Wilson, having seen Myra hovering behind him, but as he threw the Quaffle, he knew instinctively that something was wrong.

'Potter gets the Quaffle again, Potter throws the Quaffle at Wilson - wait, what? Why is he throwing the Quaffle to a Slytherin - oh, wait! Black hits Wilson with a bludger, Hilsus gets the Quaffle! Second brilliant move!' The crowd of Slytherins screamed in anger.

A bludger pelted towards him, and he dodged, but, preoccupied with it, he had not noticed the second bludger hurtling towards him. He straightened, and his eyes widened in shock as he felt the second bludger collide with his right arm - the arm he used to catch the Quaffle - with a sickening _crack! _

'Potter's been hit by a bludger!' exclaimed Laura. There were several gasps of shock and roars of anger from the crowd of Gryffindors as the crowd of Slytherins cheered. 'Anyway,' Laura continued shakily, 'Potter's still on the game -' her voice took on a note of exasperation now, and Myra sped to the Slytherin goal post and Alden caught up on her, trailing behind, '- Hilsus moves to Slytherin goal post, but - NO! - Alden gets the Quaffle, he throws it at Gryffindor goal post - come on, Wood! - no ... Slytherin scores.' The disdain in her voice was evident now. There were triumphant whoops from the Slytherins.

James growled in frustration. If only he had not been careless enough to let the bludger hit him! And then he realised that Sirius had retaliated by attacking the one of the Slytherin beaters, Montague, with a bludger. As he knew, it did not miss. His bludger hit Montague in the stomach. He snorted. It was quite like Sirius to wreck greater vengeance than the offence itself.

'Black hits Montague!' said Laura gleefully. 'Oh, well, Gryffindor and Slytherin even with ten - ten, Black hits Alden with a bludger, but - what?' she shouted furiously, because Alden had then retaliated by flying at Sirius and aiming a punch at him, which he dodged, sending Alden crashing into the goal post. James high - fived Sirius, who high - fived back, grinning. 'THAT'S A FOUL! THERE'S GOT TO BE PENALTY!' she screamed in outrage, as Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

'There isn't one needed,' scoffed James. He was right, because colliding with the goal post had proved to be sufficient punishment. However, Alden stirred feebly, and righting his broom, shot off towards the sky again, probably more for revenge than out of courage. But the whistle became insistent, so he turned and lowered his broom, flying towards Madam Hooch instead.

'Well, looks like Slytherin's got only one chaser now! Potter's got the Quaffle now, aims at Williams, Williams misses _again_, and Gryffindor scores! Gryffindor leading twenty to ten! Oh, the game's getting fast paced now! Wilson catches the Quaffle, Potter gets it - Black hits Wilson with bludger! Ha! Bell catches Quaffle, throws at Hilsus, Hilsus throws at Williams, goal blocked. No!'

'Oh, look!' said Laura excitedly. 'Johnson's found the Snitch!' There were several gasps of mingled curiosity, surprise and enthusiasm as all the eyes turned to Adrian instead. 'And Johnson and Stanley are racing to the ground - they pull up - they're charging to the stands - they turn - they're closing in -' There was a collective intake of breath from the crowd at this. 'Johnson catches the Snitch and GRYFFINDOR WINS! LIONS RULE, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING, FOUL -'

'Miss Vane!' reprimanded McGonagall, but she looked pleased.

'- sorry, Professor - SNAKES!' she finished, as the entire Gryffindor team assembled near the stands.

'VICTORY IS OURS!' roared James, and the rest of the team followed.

A little later, the Gryffindor Quidditch team sat in a circle around the common room fire, contented with their victory. James and Sirius were having a competition on who could drink more bottles of Butterbeer.

'You played brilliantly, Sirius!' cried Jamille, her onyx black eyes twinkling with ecstasy. She was not pretty, but there was something pleasant about her heart - shaped face with its cascade of brown hair and fine features.

'Why, thanks, Bell,' said Sirius, a crooked smile lighting his aristocratic features. He then lifted his eighth bottle of Butterbeer and took another swig of the drink.

'I've finished my ninth bottle,' said James, setting the empty bottle down. 'Care to go on?'

'Sure,' said Sirius, and finished his ninth bottle in a few gulps. Both James and Sirius picked up their tenth bottle, ignoring Remus' disapproving frown, and finished it in a few seconds.

'All right,' said James, standing up, 'I'm off to the grounds.'

'What, giving up so soon?' said Sirius, smirking amusedly. 'I'm game too, by the way.'

They escaped the crowd and set off at a languid pace towards the grounds. They went to part of the castle that opened very near the Forbidden Forest, intending to visit Hagrid.

_'Specialis Revelio,'_ murmured Sirius, pointing his wand at the wall, and a handle ejected itself from the wall. James closed his hand around it and wrenched the door - pretending - to - be - a - wall open. They set off to Hagrid's house, with the distance of only a few feet in front of them. At least, James did, because when he stopped, he noticed that Sirius was no longer there.

'Si? What -' he said, turning around, and saw Sirius staring at something on the castle wall. He strode to him, and stopped short when he saw what Sirius was looking at. It was a painting of Sirius, except that Sirius was wearing swimming trunks and water was issuing from his hair, chin (giving him the appearance of possessing a white beard), hands and feet. He stared at it, stunned, and then burst into laughter.

'Tough luck, mate,' he said, once his laughter had subsided.

'I'm willing to bet it was Evans,' said Sirius through gritted teeth, 'or McKinnon.' Then, for some reason James could not understand, he raised his wand. _'Accio McKinnon.' _

Marlene came into view, looking embarrassed. Sirius walked to her, and James noticed, not for the first time, that he towered more than a few inches above her. He could clearly hear Sirius speaking.

'Been sneaking around, McKinnon?' said Sirius harshly, looking down on her, wearing an expression of acute coldness. 'You really shouldn't try things you can't do, Skinny,' he continued, 'I don't suppose your perfect Prefect of a friend would be too happy ... go get a life.'

With that, he went back to James, and they went off to Hagrid's house, where a fire crackled merrily in the grate and Fang welcomed them with delighted barks.


	6. Lift the Veil

**Lift the Veil**

Sirius turned over and climbed, more gracefully than James could have, out of his warm four - poster bed. He grimaced when bright, intense sunlight met his still half - awakened eyes. He pointed his wand at the crimson curtains, which swung shut slowly and silently.

_'Expulso,'_ he said, pointing his wand at James' pillow, which burst instantly into shreds.

'ARGH!'

He quickly moved out of view, snickering slightly.

'SIRIUS!' bellowed James, jumping out of bed and looking murderous. The entire effect, however, was marred by the snow white feathers resting on his head and glasses. 'WHAT WAS THAT?'

'Finally,' said Sirius, suppressing a snort, 'I was wondering whether you'd sleep till the evening.'

_'Tergeo,'_ he hissed, pointing his wand at his glasses, 'you could've just yelled or something, for Merlin's sake!'

'You'd sleep through a hurricane, Prongs,' he replied dryly.

'Then you could've thrown water!' he yelled, 'I've - I've swallowed feathers!'

At that, Sirius dissolved into raucous laughter.

'Oh, very funny,' said James grumpily, spitting out a feather, but was interrupted by Remus' loud snore. They turned and saw (for the umpteenth time), in the light of the sun, several scars running along his face and some particularly rugged ones beginning from his hands.

'Full Moon in two days,' said James quietly, after a silence of several moments.

'Yeah,' said Sirius, frowning. 'You sure there's nothing to lessen it?'

'Yeah,' said James, 'there's nothing - not even a simple spell or a potion.'

'Well ...' Sirius trailed off wonderingly.

'There _is_ one possibility, though,' said James slowly, 'I think, I think it just _might_ work. Only we'll need to go to the library today.'

'What's it?' said Sirius quickly.

'I'll have to read more on it.'

There was a pause

'I'm starving,' said James.

'Honestly, Prongs?' said Sirius incredulously, 'you're starving at five in the morning?'

'Yep,' he said pointedly, 'since you've been rude enough to burst my pillow at five in the morning.'

'Necessary, mate,' said Sirius. 'I'm off to the field.'

'For?' said James blankly.

'Got to remove that stupid painting,' he said, shrugging.

'Yeah, that,' James snickered. 'Sticking Charm, probably.'

Sirius nodded and walked out of the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory, shutting the door with a quick snap behind him. He went to the Common Room and climbed through the portrait hole. He turned round the corner and came to a halt in front of a wall adjoining the window, hidden in shadows cast by adjacent walls.

_'Specialis Revelio,'_ he muttered, pointing his wand at the wall. Gradually, discreetly, a part of the wall resembling a door jutted forwards, and from its left part protruded a wooden handle. He wrenched the door open, and stepped outside - outside the castle. This was the darker side of the castle, often shady and welcoming little sunlight. It faced the Forbidden Forest, and from here he could see the little known archway formed by the entwining branches of the witnessing trees and the darkly ominous depths of the forest. A path began here, leading into - as he was certain - the heart of the forest.

He walked swiftly but silently to the lake, and where he had burned the painting, he could see a charred mass, which he knew had little substance and even lesser resilience now.

_'Diffindo,'_ he said, pointing his wand at the mass. Nothing happened. It remained firmly in place.

_'Reglutino,'_ he said. The mass shifted and fell to the ground.

_'Evanesco.'_ It vanished instantly.

'One down,' he said, with some satisfaction. A sudden flash of bright red light made him turn around, wand raised. He moved forwards with a feeling of increasing trepidation. He stopped outside the Gryffindor changing rooms, within which he heard a heated argument. He leaned forwards, listening intently.

'He's been on the team for years, Adrian!' yelled a voice which he recognized as Luke Wood's, beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. 'You can't just throw him out like that!'

'Yeah, I can!' Adrian yelled back, 'maybe you didn't notice, Wood, but I'm the captain, and I'll do what's right for the team!'

Sirius narrowed his eyes. Were they intending to remove James from the team?

'Fine!' snapped Luke, 'you do what you want. I don't know about you, Johnson, but me and the rest of the team think Black's a brilliant player, we won't do much without him.'

Sirius froze. They were discussing whether or not to have him on the team anymore?

'Be as it may,' said Adrian frigidly, 'but we can't have the players fooling around almost every time there's a match. It's high time he realised that -'

'- that I'm not supposed to ruin the match every time by delaying it?' said Sirius coldly, stepping inside. Adrian looked visibly shocked. 'Yeah, I know.'

'This isn't how he wanted to break it to you,' Luke pointed out.

'Thanks for the support, Wood,' he replied, 'but I'm leaving the team anyway.'

_'What?'_

'I am,' he said indifferently, 'bit of a healthy change for the team - especially for Adrian.'

He thought he saw a stab of regret mingled with shame on Adrian's face, but he turned and walked away, leaving them in a stunned silence. He walked back to the castle, intending to go back to the dormitory. By the time he had reached, however, students had already reached the Great Hall for breakfast while James, Remus and Peter made their way through the crowd of students.

'That's it!' said James exasperatedly, 'I'm taking the short cut!'

'No,' said Remus firmly, 'you're going to walk with us to the Great Hall.'

James sighed exaggeratedly, but looked surprised when he saw Sirius.

'Took you long enough,' he said.

'Yeah, I just left the team,' he said bluntly.

'What?' said James, halting suddenly, as did Remus, wide - eyed.

'Adrian was sort of yelling about kicking me off the team, so I left of my own free will.'

'Adrian was telling you about removing you?' said Remus incredulously.

'Yeah,' he confirmed, 'anyway, I'm up for breakfast. Anyone else?'

'Me,' said James immediately.

'Never forget about food, whatever happens, eh?' said Remus, rolling his eyes.

'All right, all right, my sincere condolences on your loss,' he said solicitously, bowing exaggeratedly to Sirius.

'Cut out the dramatics, mate.'

'You're both a bunch of clowns,' said Remus impatiently, before cuffing them on their heads and dragging them to the Great Hall. 'Hold on,' he said apprehensively, addressing James and Sirius, 'you two haven't done anything this time, have you?'

'Can't do much without the loony, brainy marauder, Remus,' said James, grinning.

'My sincere condolences on losing your head,' retorted Remus.

'Hey! I object strongly to that statement!'

'Never heard a truer word, Rem,' said Sirius, smirking. 'Now will you just sit down and get on with breakfast? I'm starving.'

'Aren't you always?' muttered James, wolfing down an entire salami.

'Can you be a little more refined?' said Remus.

'Nope, Rem, you must eat food, not chew it,' said Sirius, taking an even larger mutton chop and tearing off the flesh.

'No use telling you,' sighed Remus defeatedly.

'Noostellidamarodars,' said Sirius.

'Pathetic, Si,' snorted James. 'Listen,' he added in an undertone, when Remus was not looking, 'we're going to the library when we have History of Magic.'

'Yeah, good idea,' Sirius muttered back, keeping a cautious eye on Remus. 'I'm all for skiving off that stupid subject.'

But, at that precise moment, Remus turned back, and both James and Sirius hastily returned to their breakfast.

James flung the Invisibility Cloak which he had inherited from his father over Sirius and himself. They quietly snuck out of the Gryffindor Tower as one of the first - years gave the Fat Lady the password and climbed out. They reached the Hogwarts Library soon enough, and James took off the Cloak and, folding and shrinking it, put it inside his pocket.

'Come on,' he said, pointing his wand in a random direction and saying, _'Accio Rare and Dangerous Magical Beasts.'_

A surprisingly medium - sized book flew gracefully out of one of the faraway shelves, and James caught it in midair.

_'Obedire Ordinem,'_ he said, pointing his wand at the book, which fell open, and whose pages flipped until they came to a halt at page ninety nine.

It was heavily detailed, with a meticulously drawn and labelled diagram of a werewolf, and another of a human transforming into one. Below it, in small letters, were seven paragraphs :

_A werewolf is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, transforms, both physically and mentally, into a fearsome and deadly near - wolf. Werewolves may be distinguished from regular wolves by several, though insignificant, individualistic characteristics, such as the pupils of the eyes, the snout shape, and the tufted tail. At all other times, they appear as normal humans, though will often seem to be ill as the full moon approaches._

_This condition is caused by infection with Lycanthropy, usually occurring when a human is bitten by a transformed werewolf. With each full moon the person transforms and no longer remembers who he or she is, and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity. In spite of that, they seem to be able to recall everything they have experienced during the transformation, upon reverting to human form. There is no known cure for either the bite of a werewolf in his wolf-form or the bite of a werewolf in his human form._

_Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by saliva-blood contact; thus, a human being bitten by a werewolf in wolf - form will become a werewolf himself or herself. However, if a human is bitten by a werewolf in human-form, the victim will only acquire or retain some lupine tendencies._

_However, it seems that werewolves, when in their animal state, pose the danger of biting the nearest human being, but not animals. Though they can live otherwise normal lives, on every full moon a werewolf will go through an incredibly painful transformation from a human into a wolf - like creature. They lose the ability to think in a human way, becoming highly aggressive towards humans - even those to whom they are close. Though werewolves usually only infect their victims through biting, they sometimes take it too far and kill their victims._

_Contrary to popular belief, werewolves are invulnerable to silver. They are not as easily susceptible to diseases, illnesses or affliction as normal humans, and have heightened senses manifesting in improved sense of hearing, smell and distinctively greater strength and speed. However, they may acquire injuries, scars and wounds as easily as normal humans. They have a harmonious and at rare occasions, submissive association with other animals._

_Werewolves are known to have a instinctive, inexplicable enmity towards other creatures such as centaurs and unicorns, or primarily those who exhibit equal magical prowess. They have an uncanny taste for blood and flesh, and, if feeding on a full moon, will hunt and feed only on the prey which it kills. They avoid sunlight and warmth, and have evolved such that they transform only on a full moon night, when there is maximum darkness and coldness._

_They have been classified as, especially when in wolf form, XXXXX by the Ministry of Magic and as a Being by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures._

Both James and Sirius looked up at the same time.

'And,' whispered James, 'that's why I thought... that if there was a way out ... we already know that Remus could interact with animals instead of humans on every full moon, it keeps his mind off hurting himself and others.'

'Yeah ... that's all right, but what -?' said Sirius.

_'Accio Animaguses : Guide to Transformation,'_ murmured James quietly, pointing his wand forward. A thick, leather bound black book flew through the air and Sirius caught it. James flicked his wand again and the pages ruffled until coming to a halt at page one hundred and twelve.

'Do you know how to duplicate it?' he said quietly.

'Well, yeah,' said Sirius, taken aback, 'but why? We've got the material on Animagus transformations already.'

'I'm going to take this book,' he said, 'we'll need it later.'

'Okay ...' said Sirius, and then waved his wand at the book, muttering, _'Geminio.'_

The book doubled. Another identical one appeared beside it.

'We're late!' hissed James, 'we're going to be locked in if we don't get out now!' he glanced around hurriedly, before pointing his wand at the book and saying, _'Diminuendo.'_ The book shrank, and he pocketed it instantly as Madam Pince arrived, and then chased them out.

'Whoa!' said Sirius, as they exited the library and made their way to the Gryffindor tower, 'she _seriously_ needs to calm down.'

'No jokes now, Si,' said James, 'I'm dead tired.'

'You've overworking your brain,' said Sirius, 'you know it can't take much load.'

'Shut up,' advised James, striding to the portrait of the Fat Lady, 'Elf Ears.'

'Indeed,' she said approvingly, and the portrait swung open to reveal a vacant common room. They silently went up to the Boys Dormitory, and both collapsed, exhausted, on the bed.

'Night,' yawned James, putting his wand and glasses on his bedside and falling asleep almost immediately.

'Yeah,' said Sirius sleepily, turning and falling into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

* * *

Sirius, James and Peter crouched under the Invisibility Cloak, wandering aimlessly through the hallways of Hogwarts.

'Exactly what is it that you're trying to do?' hissed Sirius impatiently.

'Yes, I mean, we've just been walking around like this for the past fifteen minutes!' Peter added exasperatedly.

'You'll see when we ge -' he paused suddenly and moved backwards, accidentally stepping on Sirius' foot as he did so. 'Aha! Found it!'

'What?' snapped Sirius, wincing.

'Come on, get inside!' said James urgently, shoving Peter inside, who was followed by Sirius.

'Mate, I swear, if you're not going to tell me what this is about in a minute -' began Sirius warningly.

'Alright, alright!' said James hastily, stepping out from under the Cloak, 'I'm getting to it!'

'You'd better,' muttered Sirius.

'Okay, Pete, you know that Remus is a -' began James, but Sirius lunged forward, knocking him off balance.

'What?' he said, affronted.

'Someone could be listening, you idiot!' snarled Sirius. _'Clausus Sanus,'_ he continued quietly, walking around in a circle, and felt a faint rippling in the air surrounding him, as though they were encircled by a magical shield which no sound could penetrate.

'Alright,' he said finally, when he was done, 'go on.'

'OK, so you know that Remus is a werewolf, right?' he said inquiringly, and both Sirius and Peter nodded. 'OK. Well, a few days ago, I was going through the library, you know, researching on werewolves, and I came across a book called _Rare and Dangerous Magical Beasts_. Anyway, this book had all the major facts about them. There was a line that said that werewolves would normally harm humans standing near them on a full moon, but somehow they don't harm animals. In fact, they'd live with them quite peacefully. You remember having read that, don't you?'

Sirius nodded, and so did Peter.

'Right, so ... once we become Animaguses -'

'- if we become Animaguses.' Sirius interjected.

'- yeah, that. Anyway, humans aren't capable of Telepathy, but in animal form, it's possible. There's a potion for that. If it's made right, and drunk sometime before the transformation, after transforming -'

'- we'll be able to hear each other's thoughts. But the time between drinking it and transforming had got to be the same as the time it takes to transform, right? I've heard of the potion. The time span's probably because the mental change takes as long as the physical change.'

'Good,' said James, looking rather relieved that Sirius had cottoned on. Peter, however, looked merely baffled.

'So ...' said Peter slowly, 'how does this help Remus?' Sirius looked him disbelievingly. How was it possible that he still could not see what was so obvious?

'Oh, come on,' said James exasperatedly, 'look, when Remus transforms, he can't control his mind. As long as we're in human form, we can't communicate with him through our thoughts. But once we're in animal form -'

'- our emotions and thoughts will be as simple as the werewolf's, so we can talk to him - in a sense. We'll be able to stop him without always having to do it physically.'

'How long does it take to do it?' said Peter.

'The potion? Takes four months to brew.'

'Four months?' said Peter incredulously.

'It's worth a shot,' said James simply.

'But how are we going to do it?' said Peter, 'as Sirius said, it takes a lot of time ...'

'We'll try,' said James firmly, staring determinedly at Sirius and Peter.

'Fine,' said Sirius, with a hopeful feeling that this might work, and another ominous one that this might not end well. 'If it's Remus, I'm all for it.'

'Yes, we could try once,' said Peter.

'Should, Peter, and keep trying until we can do it,' said James fiercely, 'Remus deserves better.'


End file.
